


Laps in Judgement

by Thealmostrhetoricalquestion



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Established Relationship, Family Dynamics, Fluff, Humor, Intimacy, Light Angst, Lots of Lap-Sitting, M/M, Mild Language, POV Multiple, Sibling Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-10 22:08:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16463267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thealmostrhetoricalquestion/pseuds/Thealmostrhetoricalquestion
Summary: Teddy and James might have only just revealed their relationship to the rest of the family, but that doesn't mean they're going to ease anyone into it.“My good sir,” James begins, waltzing up to Teddy and throwing one arm out wildly, with all the theatrical flair of an eighteenth century nobleman about to deliver scandalous news at a high-stakes dinner party. “Is this seat taken?”There are no other empty seats about, and his arm is veryclearlypointed at Teddy's lap.Albus wants to be elsewhere.





	Laps in Judgement

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GoldenTruth813](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldenTruth813/gifts).



> This is as much a fic about Albus, Scorpius, Lily and Harry as it is about James and Teddy. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Also, I am gifting this to @goldentruth813 because Janel helped me with the Harry & Teddy part, and by that I mean she gave me all the ideas and I turned them into this, with her permission. Also, I know she loves Jeddy and lap-sitting and she deserves gifts for her lovely writing, so! (but if you're reading this Janel please feel free to ignore, no pressure!)
> 
> Warnings are just for some swearing and mild sexual references, I think.

“My good sir,” James begins, waltzing up to Teddy and throwing one arm out wildly, with all the theatrical flair of an eighteenth century nobleman about to deliver scandalous news at a high-stakes dinner party. “Is this seat taken?” 

There are no other empty seats about, and his arm is very _clearly_ pointed at Teddy’s lap.

Albus wants to be elsewhere. He wants, at the very least, to be on the other side of the Burrow garden, where he can’t watch James’s cheeky grin grow wider the more wary Teddy looks. Scorpius is a mournful distance away, over by the chicken hut, chatting quietly to Lily and Hugo, which could be a good excuse to move, except that everyone always makes enough codependency jokes about the two of them as it is. That's sort of how Albus found himself sequestered away next to Teddy rather than sitting next to his best friend, with his dad a short distance away and James intent on shattering the quiet peace. 

They’re all scattered around in folding chairs, drinking in the cool night air. Leaves rustle in the crisp breeze, and crickets chirp in the bushes. There was a storm a few nights ago, and there’s supposed to be another in a few days, so they’re taking the opportunity to light some of George’s newly developed fireworks while the sky’s clear. 

“Jamie,” Teddy says, a touch of warning in his voice. Ultimately, though, he does nothing as James plops down in his lap. In fact, he looks downright pleased about the turn of events. His hands fly to James’s hips as he wriggles about, trying to get comfortable. Albus grimaces at the ground, hunkering down into his hoodie. 

He’s happy for them. He’s fiercely happy for them, in fact. This whole thing is still new - not for James and Teddy, who kept their relationship private for a little while before coming out with it - but for everyone else, it’s new, and the family is still slowly adjusting to the surprise. Not that there was much to adjust to, in Albus’s opinion, and he genuinely doesn’t know how nobody else seemed to see it coming. It should have been clear to anybody with a pulse that they were going to end up together.

James has always, _always_ liked Teddy. Their relationship came so easily. Even when they were young, James had looked up to Teddy, adoration shining in his eyes, mouth gabbing away about what Teddy said when he was over last. They’d be grass-stained and muddy, running here and there together, James chattering a mile a minute, lolling around on the banks of the nearby river while Teddy fished and smiled at him. Teddy would always head straight for James when he came over, ruffling Albus’s hair as he passed. 

In Hogwarts, James ruled the roost. He was an impenetrable fortress of cheer, causing trouble and playing pranks, making friends by the dozen and cheering people up like that’s what he was put on the earth to do. When Albus got there, it took awhile for him to see the quiet side of James. The side that sent Teddy letters every week, asking him not to grow up without him. Teddy sent him little souvenirs in return, postcards and trinkets from his travels with Victoire. Albus got a couple, too, but there was undoubtedly something different about his postcards. 

They moved in together, after James finished Hogwarts and Teddy came home. He knows there were a lot of arguments, a lot of uncertainty, but in truth, it was always going to be them, together, in the end. Albus had just been waiting for the inevitable announcement, after that. It actually took a little longer than he thought it might, he muses, as he watches George hammer a firework into the ground. 

“Jamie,” Teddy hisses suddenly. Albus keeps his eyes fixed resolutely on the firework. It’s strangely bulbous, and Albus hopes it’s not from Uncle George’s adult section. He thinks Grandma Molly might start another war if a giant cock were to emblazon itself across the sky in lurid sparks again. 

“I’m not doing anything.” James’s voice is low and playful, the kind of tone that Albus doesn’t need to hear. Blatantly he _is_ doing something. Albus can see him squirming around out of the corner of his eye. 

Teddy’s hands tighten fruitlessly on his hips. “You know _exactly_ what you’re doing.”

“So do I,” Dad says suddenly, his voice cheerful despite the way he immediately stands and walks away, engaging Grandpa Weasley in conversation like the origin of hoovers might erase the past few minutes from his head. 

Albus sinks further into his hoodie in the ensuing deathly silence. He thinks he’d quite like it if that firework changed direction at the last minute and catapulted him in the face. James starts shaking, hands clapped over his mouth to muffle his laughter. 

“Merlin fucking help me,” Teddy mutters, and Albus’s self-restraint crumbles. He glances over to find James still in Teddy’s lap, as close as possible, still laughing shamelessly. Teddy has his arms wrapped around his waist, holding him close, and his head is buried in James’s shoulder like maybe that’ll stop the mortification from seeking him out and beating him over the head. 

Albus looks a little longer, unable to help it, so he catches the moment when Teddy raises his head and his wry, exasperated expression softens at the sight of James laughing in his arms. Pretty good view for him, Albus reckons. There’s so much love there, and it’s mirrored in the way James looks back at him, his laughter tapering off as he tucks himself closer and entwines their legs. 

Albus looks away. His heart feels strangely full and heavy, and he can’t quite identify the emotion flowing through him. A bit of wistfulness. Loneliness, maybe, coupled with the nagging feeling of being left behind. Nostalgia, for the way things used to be. Happiness, definitely, because they finally get to be together, get to show it openly the way they must have wanted to for quite a bit now. It’s a mix of things, but love is quite firmly there in the midst of it all. Albus tucks his hands inside his sleeves, curls his legs underneath him in the cramped chair, and watches Uncle George hammer his own thumb. 

***

Albus likes autumn. He likes autumn because of the way the weather turns cold and gloomy and the rain hammers down and the leaves fall like feathers in the air. He sits at home, reading, and he babysits next-doors kids, and he works on the book that nobody knows about yet because he’s not brave enough to tell them. He eats hot stew with fresh, crusty bread and puts the telly on while he waits for Scorpius to come home from his evening classes. 

The only reason he doesn’t like autumn is because they stop selling his favourite ice cream at the corner store, presumably because it’s too cold for ice cream to make much of a sale, or some other shit reason. That, and the bus times change. 

Albus never passed his Apparition Test. It’s a sore point in his life that he likes to leave alone, because if he examines it at all then it tends to bring out the very worst of his insecurities, and he has enough of those to sink a ship. But because he won’t acknowledge the fact that he didn't pass the first time, he also hasn’t tried to pass it again, which means he can’t Apparate, and he heavily relies on either Side-Along or public transport to get where he’s going. 

It does make his life a bit difficult. Especially when autumn rolls in, and the bus times change without much warning, and Albus gets stuck in a heavy downpour after work, sniffing and staring at the board at the stop, having missed the last bus. 

He considers sending a quick Patronus to Scorpius, because that’s one spell that he did manage to get down quite quickly, but Scorpius is still in his evening class around now, and Albus doesn’t want to bother him. He hasn’t wanted to bother him this whole past week, not since Albus went on a tentative date the other day with a guy from work and came home to find Scorpius’s bedroom door firmly shut. He thinks for a minute about what to do, growing steadily more soaked, and then a light-bulb flickers to life in his mind.

He can’t call Scorpius, but he’s not far from James and Teddy’s flat. And yeah, he doesn’t really want to bother them either, but the other option is catching a cold while he waits here or forking out a fortune for a taxi. He fidgets for a minute, unsure, and then sighs.

It's not far, but by the time he gets there, he’s soaked and feeling pretty sorry for himself. James opens the door as soon as Albus knocks, frowning as he takes in Albus’s dripping form. Albus grimaces pathetically in his direction. 

“I know it’s late, but I missed the bus, and Scorpius is in class. Can I come in?”

James throws him a wildly confused look, jerking the door open properly. “Why are you even asking? You look like a drowned rat. Get in here, you idiot, you’re letting all the heat out.”

Albus steps gratefully into the warmth. The place is bathed in yellow light, and there’s music playing in the kitchen. James aims a couple of spells at him until he’s blessedly warm and dry, and Albus runs his fingers through his hair, which is even more curly than usual thanks to the weather. 

“Better?”

“Much. Thanks,” he says, shuffling around until he can hang his jacket and bag up. He hovers awkwardly on the doormat for a moment. 

“Stop being weird,” James says, pulling him into a one-armed hug as they head for the kitchen. “You know you can always come here.”

Albus chews his lip. He does know that, deep down, somewhere under all the mess of his feelings. But no matter how often he reminds himself that he’s allowed to be here, his mind likes to insist that he’s not wanted.

He feels like he’s intruding, like he shouldn’t be here, in this happy space they’ve carved out for themselves. It feels like there’s no room for him anymore. It’s ridiculous, and he knows James would feel utterly fucking awful if Albus ever said anything, and then he’d probably think it was his fault and overcompensate by spending all his time with Albus, and he’d start missing Teddy, and he’d ultimately be miserable. It’s not James or Teddy’s fault that Albus’s brain does this to him sometimes. Which is why he’s not going to say anything. 

“Teddy’s making soup because he’s an old man,” James says, voice louder as they step inside the kitchen. Teddy flips them off without looking, fiddling with the hob. It smells nice, like the Burrow in winter, like Grandma Molly might bustle round the corner any minute now with a clothes pin in her hair and a bowl of buttered potatoes, like Grandpa Weasley might sneak him away to the shed to have a look at his latest hidden Muggle contraption. Albus feels the stress seep out of him. 

“You’d starve to death if I wasn’t an old man, as you so lovingly put it,” Teddy says, turning round to grin at them. “Hey, Al. Want some food?”

He’s got leftovers at home, but he’s not sure when he’ll be getting back, so he nods. 

“If you’ve got some spare,” Albus says. He sits at the table and watches James dance around, grabbing cutlery and butter for the bread. Teddy moves with him easily, ladling soup into bowls and occasionally kissing James when he moves within reach. They’re like magnets, a push and a pull, never repelling, never straying too far from each other.

“We’re not eating soup on the sofa,” Teddy says, quelling the argument before it can begin. “Not after what happened with the ravioli.” 

James snaps his mouth shut. He doesn’t often get flustered or ashamed, something Albus both envies and loves about him, but right now he actually looks sheepish. 

Albus grins. “What happened with the ravioli?”

“Table it is!” James announces, clapping his hands loudly and sending the bowls floating towards the table. Teddy drops a wink Albus’s way, and mouths _tell you later._

Albus finds himself smiling too hard to eat his soup. 

“There’s cake if you want it,” Teddy says later, when they’re all sprawled out in the living room. Well, _Teddy_ is sprawled, and James is sprawled out on top of him, nestled firmly in his lap and groaning comfortably every now and again, patting his full stomach like he’s expecting. 

Albus has taken the beanbag on the floor, a ridiculously childish addition that James apparently picked out and which Albus secretly loves. He’s borrowed a jumper from one of them and he can feel his eyelids growing heavy. 

“I’m good, thanks. I think I’m gonna burst any minute,” James says, nose pressed against Teddy’s collarbone. 

Teddy jostles him gently. “I was talking to our guest, not you.”

“Al’s not a guest.” James yawns, shooting Albus a lazy, fond smile. “He’s family, obviously, which makes him not a guest.”

“True,” Teddy says, without any hesitation, throwing his own smile Albus’s way. Albus can feel something swell in his chest, grinning shyly into the collar of his jumper. 

“And family has to help wash the dishes,” James adds, after a moment of comfortable quiet. Albus considers this, and then flips James off before pretending to fall asleep, ignoring the chorus of whines and chuckles that follow.

***

Scorpius is speaking to him again, which is good because Albus doesn’t do well not speaking to Scorpius. All the codependency jokes have a hint of truth to them. Albus doesn’t go on another date with the guy from work - Kevin, or something, a small guy with big hair and a bit of a boring personality, if Albus is honest. He doesn’t go on a date because Scorpius asks him if he’s going to, and he’s got this little tremor to his voice and he won’t look at Albus when he asks. 

Albus lies, but it’s not really a lie because it’s not Kevin that he really wanted to be going on a date with. “Nah. He was dull and he ordered my food for me, then stole half my chips.”

Scorpius does this little half-grin, still focused entirely too intently on the kettle as it boils away. “Oh. Sorry to hear that. I know how you are about sharing food.”

“I have more fun with you, anyway,” Albus offers, a bit tentative, but he has a feeling it was the right decision when Scorpius turns round, beaming from ear to ear. 

“Yeah?”

Albus can feel his ears burning. He nods, awkward, and says, “Yeah. Don't let it go to your head, Malfoy.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Scorpius laughs outright as he joins him at the kitchen table, folding his legs under him on the chair and stealing a bit of Albus’s toast. Albus finds he doesn’t mind sharing his food if it's Scorpius he's sharing it with and promptly smashes face-first into an epiphany. 

***

“I borrowed a truck for the occasion,” Teddy announces, looking quite proud as he pats the side of said truck. He looks particularly handsome in his jacket and jeans, no ugly cardigans in sight, soft and comfortable and happy for it. 

Lily makes sure to look less than impressed, scrunching her nose up as she eyes the faded paint and rusty wheels. “This beast is ugly as sin. Where’d you find it? Scrapyard? The tip? Side of the road?”

“Now now, Lilian,” James says, yanking her into a headlock and getting kicked smoothly in the shin as a result. She’s got good boots on this evening, excellent for leaving little dents in her brothers’ bones. James’s voice is a little strained as he continues, “Play nice.”

Lily rearranges her hair as James lets her go, whining as he falls towards Teddy. Lily snorts, watching Teddy grin down at him, eyebrows raised in a way that shows absolutely no sympathy. It’s cute. It’s a bit gross, when they’re all over each other all the time at dinners and lunches and family days, but Lily thinks that any kind of PDA is gross, in all honesty. It’s still cute, in its own gross way.

“If you’ve finished slobbering on each other, we should probably go before we’re late,” Lily says, hefting a bag of snacks over her shoulder and sliding into the back of the truck.

“I don’t think you can be late to a musical festival, Lils,” Teddy tells her, moving to kiss her briefly on the forehead before she can shut the door. He shuts it for her, like a gentlemen, and Lily smiles at him before he strolls off. 

“We have to wait for Al anyway,” James protests, poking his head through the window rather than just climbing into the truck like a normal person. Lily gets one hand on his face and shoves him back outside, watching him stumble with a satisfied nod. 

“He’s not coming, he’s got a date,” Lily says, a slight grin forming at James’s outraged noise. 

“He got a _date_ and he didn't tell me?” 

“Good for him,” Teddy says, climbing in behind the wheel. “It’s about time. Get in the truck, Jamie, or I’ll stuff you in the glove-box.”

James pesters her for answers the whole time there, but Lily remains stoically silent, refusing to cave, going so far as to shove the earphones Al got her for Christmas in and blast the music loudly. She can see Teddy’s shoulders shaking as he drives them smoothly around a corner and off the road, onto a dirt path. 

It’s not like it’s some big secret, who Al’s dating. Everyone’s been waiting for him to ask out Scorpius, or for Scorpius to ask out him, or for both of them to suddenly realise that they live together and have been dating for what feels like fucking forever. But Albus didn’t say she could tell anyone, begged her not to mention anything. 

Besides, it’s fun to hold it over James.

“Why are you so worked up about this?” Lily asks, as Teddy parks the car in a field, already teeming with other cars and people on blankets. She can hear chatter and laughing and the occasional shriek as something explodes in the distance, closer to the stage where things are being set up. It’s going to be a good concert, Lily thinks, excitement beginning to coil inside her as she opens the door and jumps out onto the grass. 

“I’m not worked up,” James says, frowning as he rounds the car. Teddy hands him blankets from the bag in the front seat, and James takes them absentmindedly. “I just don't get why he didn't tell me.”

Lily levels him with an impatient look, snack-bag firmly in place and hands outstretched, ready to take some of the blankets. “You don't get why Albus, our shy, introverted brother, didn't tell you, his loud, older brother who enjoys teasing him, that he’s out on a first date? You don't get why he didn't share his feelings without prompting, tying down, or an interrogation?”

James’s frown gets more pronounced. “He tells me things. He knows I wouldn’t judge him.”

Of course he tells James things, Lily thinks, rolling her eyes. Lily’s always felt a tiny bit out of the loop when it comes to James and Albus. She has Rosie and Lucy, but truthfully, they’re all so different that it’s hard for them to be open with each other, to get along all the time. When they were younger, it was always Albus and James against the world, and now it’s getting different, but probably not for the reasons James thinks. 

“Did you tell him when you started dating Teddy?” Lily asks. She doesn’t really want to play that card, not when she knows it didn't actually bother Albus that much, but she wants to make James see something. 

Teddy looks surprised, folding the last blanket in his arms and sharing a look with James. 

“We wanted to keep it for ourselves, at first,” Teddy explains slowly, a slight crinkle between his brows. “We thought everyone might find it weird, and we weren’t sure if we worked together yet.”

James snorts. “ _You_ weren’t sure.”

Teddy rolls his eyes. Lily decides to interrupt before either of them can say something else and ruin a good night. 

“It’s just a date, James. He’s gone on a date and he doesn’t want to tell you about it because he’s working out whether it’s going to be any good for him, just like you and Teddy did. He only told me because I ran into him practising excuses for tonight in a mirror.” She grins fondly at the memory of Albus’s flustered scowl and wringing hands. “Anyways, he’ll tell you about it soon, probably. But how you’re feeling now is probably how Al feels quite a bit of the time around you two, so maybe work on that.”

Lily decides to leave them to work that one out a second. She throws the blankets in the back of the truck, where she reckons they can make some kind of cosy nest to listen to the music. Normally she’d be down the front, dancing away, and maybe later she will, but right now she kind of just wants to relax and have a bit of fun. No doubt she’ll want to escape James and Teddy at some point when they get inappropriate, so she’ll soak up the attention for now and dance later.

When she turns back, Teddy is staring pointedly at James, and James is chewing his lip thoughtfully. He meets Lily’s eyes and shrugs. 

“Guess you have a point. We’ll talk about it, and I’ll stop with the questions for now.”

Lily cocks her hip. “I always have a point, James. You think you’d have worked that out by now.”

“Fuck, you’re exactly like mum,” James says, rolling his eyes with a grin. He gets an arm around her shoulders and drags her to the back of the truck, hoisting her up so she can jump on the blankets with a laugh. She can hear Teddy following them, his own laughter dry and warm, and she snags the good, fluffy blankets before James can get to them, wrapping them around her legs. 

“You got the snacks?” James whispers, as Teddy climbs up to sidle in beside them. 

Lily pats the bag confidently. “What do you take me for?”

James grins. “Good. Don't let Teddy know that you have Jelly Babies.”

An hour later, and James is in Teddy’s lap, stuffing muggle sweets into his mouth while Teddy traces patterns onto the rough denim over his thighs. He looks comfortable there, like there’s nowhere else he’d rather be than in Teddy’s lap. Teddy keeps sending little awed glances up at James when he’s not looking, like he can’t believe he gets to have this. Lily finds herself glancing over often, mostly to keep an eye on the snacks, which keep creeping closer to James’s end of the truck, and also because they really are cute together, even if she could do without the constant kissing. 

She can feel the music on her skin, sending goosebumps everywhere, and she tips her head back, thoroughly relaxed. When she tips it back again, she catches sight of a very familiar head of black hair winding towards them, a blond on his hip. 

Lily sighs. “Shit.”

Teddy catches her eye, and she considers asking him to distract James, but the thought of what that might entail makes her want to grimace and run. There are some things younger sisters shouldn't have to see. It’s too late anyway, because Albus laughs, his usual quiet laugh, and James and Teddy both look over in surprise. 

James swallows three Jelly Babies whole and almost rockets out of Teddy’s lap - would have, too, if it weren’t for Teddy’s sudden death grip. 

_“You’re dating Lysander?”_

James’s question can probably be heard from space, Lily muses, watching as both of her brothers turn bright red, one with what appears to be horror, and the other with mortification. Albus’s wide eyes skim over the three of them before he utters a soundless moan, his grip a little too tight on the drinks he’s obviously just bought. 

Lysander, for his part, looks amused. Lily’s only ever known him to have one of three expressions: faint amusement, usually at the expense of someone else, boredom, recognisable by the blank look and exaggerated groans, and a lewd smirk.

He turns the smirk on Albus then, hands tucked casually in the pockets of his leather jacket, one eyebrow raised, the glint of a piercing visible in the dying sunlight. 

“Was this a date, Potter? You should be a bit clearer next time. If I’d known, I would have put a little more _effort_ into it.”

Lily's impressed at the amount of suggestion in that comment. James makes an outraged noise, and Lily abruptly remembers that James never really liked Lysander, as much as James can’t like a person. Presumably because Lysander’s jokes are twice as dirty as his, and James could never get a rise out of him at school, but Lysander was excellent at getting under his skin. 

“Jamie, seriously,” Teddy says, doing his best to keep his laughter under wraps as he pulls James back into his lap. “Albus can date whoever he likes.”

“I’m not,” Albus interrupts them, voice faint, eyes on the sky, “dating Lysander. I don't think people _date_ Lysander. Lysander doesn’t _do_ dating.” 

Lysander’s smirk gets even more pronounced, if that’s even possible, his heavy-lidded eyes fixed on Albus. 

“Oh, baby Potter,” Lysander murmurs. “I think I could be persuaded to try.” 

Technically, Lily would be baby Potter, but she can’t deny that it has the desired effect. James turns a painful shade of puce, Teddy tightens his grip and shares a quick flash of a grin with her, and Albus stands very stiffly, like if he’s just still enough, the ground beneath him might swallow him up. 

“I just ran into him when I was getting drinks for me and Scorpius,” Albus explains, ignoring Lysander in favour of raising the drinks a little and then lowering them again. Lily usually thrives on awkward, but this is a little much even for her to handle. 

“You should probably get back to him, then, or he’ll think he ditched you for leather-head over here,” Lily says, offering Albus an out. She grins when he widens his eyes at her. “Don't worry, we’ll tie James down and buy you a few days before he stops squawking about Lysander and starts squawking about you and Scorpius _finally_ dating.”

“Wait, you and Scorpius?” 

Lily casts a sideways look at James to find his indignant rage transforming into open-mouthed delight. Albus starts to edge away, but Lysander hooks a finger in his collar before he can escape and tugs him closer, bending down to whisper something in his ear. Lily watches, intrigued, as Albus turns very, very red, and is suddenly quite glad that James is tucked away safely in Teddy’s lap. She also thanks Merlin for Teddy’s strong arms, the ones that are keeping him there, but she does that daily anyway. 

“Think about it,” Lysander says lowly, pulling back with that same smirk. He drops a kiss on Albus’s cheek and then strolls away whistling, giving them all a little wave over his shoulder.

“Fucking Scamander's,” James hisses, squirming to get out of Teddy’s hold, although Lily notes with amusement that he isn’t trying very hard. “Albus Severus Potter, you better have a good reason for—”

Albus flees. Lily watches him vanish into the edge of the crowd, drinks held aloft, and stuffs her fist into her mouth to hide her surprised giggles. James couldn’t look more affronted if he tried. 

“My life’s supposed to be the most exciting one here,” James complains. “I’m dating my God-brother.”

Teddy splutters out a helpless laugh and digs his hand into James’s ribs, making him jerk. “Jesus, don't _joke_ about that, Jamie.”

“Think that’s my cue to skidoo, right there,” Lily says cheerfully, still giggling. “You’ve got your work cut out for you, Ted.” 

Teddy aims a droll look at her before fitting his hands around James’s waist and spinning him around until he’s straddling Teddy’s thighs. 

“Good call, Lily,” Teddy says, and his hands roam over James’s thighs, firm and familiar. Lily wrinkles her nose at the sharp little intake of breath from her brother and leaps down from the truck just as the music turns deafening and fast, the way she likes it. There are some things that younger sisters _really_ shouldn't have to see or hear. 

***

Molly sighs as she steps into her own kitchen. Her own, lovingly scrubbed and tended kitchen, where she spends a large portion of her life. 

“Not at the table, dears. There are baby potatoes present.”

Teddy, always the more conscious of the two, jumps back from James, dazed but also panicked. James sighs theatrically and drags his hands out of Teddy’s hair, but makes no move to get out of Teddy’s lap, where _he_ spends a large portion of his life. 

“Sorry, Molly,” Teddy says, with a strained, sheepish smile. James doesn’t bother looking apologetic, just laces their hands together and grins up at her, cheeky as anything. She cuffs him lightly around the ear as she moves around them towards the sink. 

“That’s alright, love,” Molly says. “Lord knows I got carried away enough times in my youth. You wouldn’t believe the places Arthur and I were caught after hours…”

“Grandma, we’re eating soon,” James protests, but he’s laughing. 

“Just for that, you can dry the plates by hand,” Molly says, flinging a tea-towel in his vicinity. “Teddy, dear, could you go and help Charlie in the garden? He was supposed to be bringing in my tablecloths off the line, but he must have gotten distracted by those bloody gnomes again. Ruddy things are multiplying.”

“Must be feeling randy,” James says, winking at Teddy. “I know the feeling. It's the winter air.”

Teddy all but shoves him off his lap for that, but Molly catches his fond grin and feels fond herself, for the both of them. He leaves with another quick kiss to James, and they both watch him leave, shutting the back door behind him.

“You’ve got hearts in your eyes, love,” Molly says, smiling at James as he cracks his knuckles over her draining-board. 

“Good,” James says, picking up a plate. “I was worried I wasn't being obvious enough.”

“I think my table would appreciate a little less obvious and a little more subtle, but I can’t say I mind,” Molly says, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “If it means Great-Grandbabies, that’s just fine with me.”

James makes a horrified noise and swipes a hand through the air. “I don't know what you’re implying, Grandma, but please. Please, stop. I promise not to defile your table anymore.”

“Oh, you wouldn’t be the first,” Molly says, making sure to look extra misty as she reminisces, purely for the pleasure of hearing the noise James makes.

“Grandma!”

***

Harry opens the door a few seconds before Teddy can knock and blinks at him in surprise. He’d been expecting Brian, the twat with a pork-pie hat that lives over the road and keeps banging on the door to make ridiculous complaints about Harry’s innocent crup, Colin, who has apparently ‘soiled the begonias.’ Bollocks. Brian just doesn’t know how to grow nice flowers, that’s all. 

It’s not Brian, though, thankfully. It’s Teddy, who holds up a plastic bag with a sheepish look, the contents clinking gently. 

“I brought butterbeer?”

“I can see that,” Harry says, grinning as he steps aside to let Teddy in, although why he bothered knocking when he hasn’t in years is beyond Harry. “I thought tonight was date night for you and James?”

“It was, but it’s also game night for me and you, and I’ve never missed one of those yet,” Teddy says, kicking off his shoes and hanging his jacket up as Harry shuts the door. It’s true, he hasn’t missed a game night before, but Harry kind of thought that might start to change recently. He wouldn’t have minded, but he likes this option better, and he feels warm and pleased as he pulls Teddy into a hug. 

“As long as you don't mind?” Teddy adds, when Harry releases him. 

Harry can’t help but shoot him a droll look. “Why would I mind you coming here to watch a game with me like we’ve done for years? Why would I mind you coming here at all?”

Teddy shrugs, running a hand through his violet hair. Harry takes the bottles from him and shuffles into the kitchen while Teddy figures out what he wants to say. Teddy’s always been a bit like that. He’s not shy by any means, and he isn’t quiet or careful, exactly, but he likes to think about his words before he says them. He’ll gladly tell the world what’s what, but he's also a very private person. 

Harry makes a lot of noise, bumbling around with the corkscrew and fetching glasses just in case they feel like having a bit of class, fishing a bag of chips out of the freezer to go in the oven. Not as good as proper pub chips, the chunky kind, but they’ll do in a pinch. He’s even got some of Lily’s fancy curry sauce that you make yourself in the cupboard. 

“Need a hand?” Teddy asks, swinging himself up onto the counter. He used to do that when he was younger too, gave Harry a heart-attack a thousand fucking times because he was graceful, sure, but he was also tiny and he liked to swing his legs and loll about all over the place like gravity was his mate rather than a very real consequence. He kicks his feet now, hunched forward slightly to fit in without hitting the cupboards. 

“You’re good, thanks though,” Harry says, chucking chips onto a tray. “Unless you want to do battle with this?”

Teddy chuckles as he takes the corkscrew and grabs two bottles of butterbeer. Harry lets the oven warm up as he digs out the curry sauce box, and then Teddy starts to talk. 

“It’s not like I thought you’d mind me being here,” Teddy says quietly, eyes fixed firmly on the bottle. “Things have been a bit different, though, since James and I started dating.”

Harry waits, pretending to read the instructions so that Teddy won’t stop talking. 

“I mean, I’m not regretting dating him even for a second, and I’m not going to stop,” Teddy says, sounding suddenly panicked, like he thinks Harry might judge him if that were the case.

“I didn't think you would,” Harry says. “A hundred elephants couldn’t pry you two apart.”

Teddy gives him an odd look for the turn of phrase, but sod it, Harry’s been watching Dumbo all morning since there was nothing else on the telly, and he’s got elephants on the brain. 

“Right,” Teddy says, nodding slowly. “I don't know, I guess it’s just a bit overwhelming. Feeling so much.”

“Feeling so much?”

“Yeah,” Teddy says, still nodding, nose all scrunched up. “Like, he’s not even doing anything, and I still feel so much. He’ll just be sat there in my jumper, wearing ugly socks and getting milkshake everywhere, and I just…”

Harry hides a smile. 

Teddy flails one arm about and almost hits the cupboard with his knuckles, trying to settle on words and finding them all insufficient. “I don't even fucking know, Harry. It’s just a lot. And you’re the only one I really feel okay talking to about this.” 

Harry can remember a time when the world was going to shit, when he was thirteen fourteen fifteen sixteen seventeen and ready to leave, when there was a low supply of adults for him to talk to. There were adults, sure, but none that he trusted fully, none that understood him, none with that unconditional love that’s supposed to come with a mum or a dad. He can remember quite easily, although he doesn’t like to, when he was confused and angry, and he didn’t know which way was up, and he craved something. A parent. Someone to talk to, to help him with everything, even just to listen while he spilled everything that he kept inside out into the open. 

He’s known since Teddy was first put in his arms after the war that this tiny little baby was going to feel the exact same thing, and he’s seen the truth of that over the years - Teddy fumbling and lost and feeling like the odd one out. Looking like he didn’t know who to turn to, big eyes and small shoulders, turned in when the world was too much. 

Harry made sure to be there. He’s made sure to be the thing he craved when he was younger. He’s glad that even now, with things changing, Teddy knows he can come to him. That he’s still there.

“I’m glad you feel like you can talk to me,” Harry says. “I like helping you, and I like listening to you. I know it might feel weird, ‘course, since it’s James, but you’re my kid too, Teddy, and you can always come to me.”

Teddy turns the same red that he always does when Harry calls him _his._ His eyes are bright when he clambers off the counter and nudges Harry, says, “Gross, Harry, you’re getting old and sappy.”

“I know.” Harry grins. “It’s brilliant.”

Teddy snorts, growing quiet again. There’s a smile there now, though, as he pops the corks out of the bottles and pockets them to post to Luna, like he's done since he was six, going round at parties and barbecues to collect the stray corks. 

“You know, I talked to Al the other day,” Harry says, taking the open butterbeer from Teddy.

“Really?” Teddy raises an eyebrow, surprised, and Harry bumps him with an elbow. He and Albus are better now. They do talk, even if it’s hardly ever about Albus, something Harry desperately wants to change and doesn’t have a clue how to go about doing.

“Yeah, really,” Harry says, leading the way into the living room so they can fall on the sofas, knees knocking comfortably. “He was talking about you two, you and James.” 

Teddy furrows his brow, looking almost nervous. “He was? I thought he was alright with it.” 

“He is,” Harry says, rolling his eyes. “He was saying that we were all idiots for not seeing it coming. Apparently he knew it was going to happen from about the age of five onward. Course I didn't believe him, and then he started explaining, and listing stuff off, and I got where he was coming from. It was sort of obvious from the beginning, how much you two loved each other.”

“Childhood sweethearts,” Lily says, as she tramps through the hallway, startling the shit out of both of them. Harry slops butterbeer down his front and cleans it up with a spell, sighing. 

“Bloody hell, Lils, you could have killed us,” Teddy says, patting his heart, where presumably it’s trying to escape through his chest. Lily laughs and ducks inside the living room to kiss them both briefly on the cheek. Her lipstick doesn't smear. 

“Albus is right, though,” Lily says, leaning over the back of the sofa, one of her legs kicking wildly in the air. “He usually is, weirdly enough, although he won’t believe me if I say something like that. He’ll just do his stupid nervous laugh and go back to whatever incredibly smart thing he was saying, the oblivious bastard.”

Harry snorts, because yeah. That sums up Albus. 

“Right about what?” Teddy says. 

“About all of it being a long time coming.” Lily shrugs, her hair swinging loose and free. “You two are so grossly in love. And it’s been that way for ages, but you’ve only recently let yourselves feel it, so you feel all different, but none of it’s actually different.” 

“Some things are definitely different,” Teddy mutters as his eyebrows deepen to a dark red. Harry pretends not to hear that. Lily laughs, her head thrown back. She looks like Ginny when she laughs. 

“Look, you’re saying things are changing, but from the outside, they look the same. You both look happier, definitely, and I like that you’re open with it, that you feel comfortable enough to just be together around us all, but it’s still you and James.” 

Teddy stares at her incredulously. “How long were you listening?”

Lily flaps a hand, standing up and summoning her coat. “Oh, ages. That's the extent of my wisdom, though. Dad’s got it from here, I think. I believe in you, old man.”

“Thanks, love,” Harry says, as dry as he can manage, and blinks indignantly when Lily has the nerve to _ruffle his hair_ before skipping out. He sighs, dropping his head back against the sofa. “Why did I reproduce.”

Teddy coughs on a sip of beer, and Harry reaches for the remote while he struggles to breathe. 

“Ready to shout at some footballers?” Harry asks. “Should start in ten.”

“You know I still don't understand football at all,” Teddy says, getting comfy on the sofa. "What's with all the cards and safety rules?"

“Not understanding it is part of the fun.”

The TV goes on, and Harry finds the right channel after a bit of clicking. He doesn’t really hate football, but it’ll never compare to Quidditch. It’s part of their tradition, his and Teddy’s, to throw a match up on the screen every other Saturday and tear apart the game before going out to play a highly superior game of Quidditch in the garden. 

He turns down the volume and drinks his butterbeer as Teddy chats about work and the festival he went to the other week, and Harry throws in a few comments, but mostly he listens, keeping a mental tally. 

“You know,” Harry muses aloud, just before the game starts, “you just mentioned James a total of seventeen times in eight minutes. I really, really don't know how we didn't notice it sooner.”

Teddy sinks down into the sofa cushions, scowling, and Harry chuckles as he drains the rest of his drink and throws an arm around him, tugging him in for a hug whether he likes it or not. 

***

“Your brother and Teddy really like to be close, don't they?” Scorpius muses, as he peers through the kitchen doorway into the living room. It's a nice night, even though neither of them can cook, and it's their turn to host dinner. With Albus beside him, diligently chopping a carrot and looking quite put-out about it, Scorpius can’t think of anywhere he’d rather be. 

“Is James in his lap again?” Albus asks, sounding distracted. 

“Other way round,” Scorpius says. 

Albus almost misses the carrot. He glances up and cranes his neck to look over his shoulder, eyebrows raising. “Huh. That’s new.”

Scorpius shrugs. “Maybe. Or maybe they do this all the time, and they’re just allowing us to see it now. You know. Maybe they’re more comfortable around us now.”

“I hope so,” Albus says. “Hey, hold this for me?”

He dumps a load of carrot skins in Scorpius’s hands and starts on a new one. Scorpius wrinkles his nose and deposits the skins in the bin nearby, before going back to the view. Teddy looks comfortable, sat in James’s lap. He’s undoubtedly bigger than James, but they somehow fit anyway. James’s hands aren’t even wandering like Scorpius would have expected them too. They’re just resting on Teddy, one on his hip, and one over his chest as they lean back in the armchair, talking quietly. Scorpius watches the hand move to cover Teddy’s heart, and one of Teddy’s hand moves to cover James’s. 

He turns away, his eyes finding Albus, still frowning down over his mound of carrots. He feels a familiar swell of affection at the sight of black, fluffy hair and focused green eyes. 

“You could sit on my lap, you know, if you want,” Scorpius offers. “Or the other way round. Just a thought.”

Albus fumbles a carrot, the knife clattering to the chopping board. “I - _what_ \- are you supposed to offer that sort of stuff?”

Scorpius shrugs delicately, leaning forward to press a kiss to the corner of Albus’s slack, shocked mouth. “Like I said, just a thought.”

Albus splutters some more as his carrot rolls away from him. The look on his face is hilarious, but the glint in his eye is slightly terrifying in its determination, and Scorpius wonders if he’s made a small lapse in judgement. 

Scorpius can’t resist kissing him again before he ducks out of sight into the living room, ignoring the grumblings that follow him. He folds himself onto the free sofa and grins at James, who raises an eyebrow over Teddy’s shoulder. 

“Why does Al sound like he’s crying? Have you broken my brother?”

“I’m just following your lead,” Scorpius says, and he laughs at James’s wink, but he’s not laughing later, after dinner, when Albus sits in his lap very _pointedly_ and calls him quite a few choice words before kissing the hell out of him. 

It’s nice, that James and Teddy are together, Scorpius thinks giddily, as he tugs Albus closer. Really, really nice.

**Author's Note:**

> I want to do a follow-up focusing just on James, Albus and Teddy, because I opened some cans here that I didn't quite close, and I'd like to explore that sibling relationship more! I don't know if I got all the characters quite right, but I like how it turned out! Thank you so much!! Hope you liked it, please let me know what you thought! <3


End file.
